Pattern chain cylinder for dobby looms



P 1952 w. A. BLANCHARD 2,612,189

PATTERN CHAIN CYLINDER FOR DOBBY LOOMS Filed Jan. 10, 1950 INVENTOR LWILLIAM ABLANOHARD 39 ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 30, 1952 UNITED/STATESPATENT. OFFlC E PATTERN CHAIN (3%;INDER FOR DOBBY William A. Blanchard,Millbury, Mass, assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester,Mass, a; corporation of Massachusetts Application January 10, 1950,Serial No. 137,816

This invention relates to improvements in 4 Claims. (Cl. 139-330) indershaft, when driven through the hole, is f likely to be bent and requirea straightening operation which may break the wood.

It is an important object of the present invention to make a dobby chaincylinder of several preformed members, preferably formed of plasticmaterial, having accurately aligned bores for the shaft and securedtogether'to form a unified rigid cylinder.

Dobb-ies are generally made of varying capacities, dependent upon thenumber of harness frames in the loom, and each different capacityrequires a corresponding length of pattern cylinder. Thus, a twenty-fiveharness loom requires a longer cylinder than does a sixteen harnessloom. Heretofore, it has been necessary to keep on hand patterncylinders of various lengths all of which, however, have similar endheads- It is an important object of the present invention to providepattern cylinder end or head members suitable for cylinders of variouslengths and secure them to chain driving cylinder members of differentlengths, depending upon the number of will appear as the descriptionproceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangementof'parts hereinafter described-and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings-whereina convenient embodiment of theinvention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the lower part of a dobby having theinvention applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is a horizontal longitudinal section'on line 2-2,Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an end view looking arrow 3, Fig. 2, e Fig. 4 is a transversevertical section on line 44,Fig. 2, e

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail longitudinal section on line 5-5, Fig. 4,

Fig. 6 is a-transverse vertical section on line in the direction of 66,Fig. 2, and

harnesses in the loom on which thecylinder is v to be used.

In order to reduce the cost of the material used for making the chaindriving cylinder members the latter are in the form of thin shells orsleeves or constructed as to have interiorly opening slots within theelongated pattern chain driving teeth. It is another object of thepresent invention to provide a reinforcing spider or the likeintermediate the end heads having teeth which fit into the aforesaidslots and thereby support and also align the cylinder members.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide the end memberswith teeth or lugs which fit into parts at least of the previouslymentioned interiorly opening slots in order to provide positive drivingconnections between the end members and the cylinder members.

With these and other objects in View which Figs. '7 and 8 are enlargeddetailed longitudinal sections on lines l'! and 8- -8, respectively,Fig. 6.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, the dobby frame [0 supports adrivingshaft H having secured thereto a sprocket l 2 meshing. with achain 13. The latter is driven from one of the loom shafts and causesrotation of a worm I4 meshing with the worm gear 15 secured to' adobbycylinder shaft It. 'If the dobby is of the'so-called double index typethe worm will give the shaft I6 an angular motion every second pick ofthe loom. I

A support rod 2(ihas mounted thereon a plurality of dobby fingers two ofwhich are shown at 2| and 22. When in low position the fingers havetheir rightends as shown in Fig. 6 s'upportedby a fixed bar23. The leftends of the fingers 2| and 22 are provided with arms 24 and 25,respectively, one of which supportsan upright rod 26 for atop hook(not'shown) and the other of which supports a lower hook 21.. The hooksare connected to a dobby back lever 28 pivotedto a harness frame liftingjack (not shown). One of the two hook engaging knives of the dobby isindicated at 29 and reciprocates backwardly and forwardly ina slot 30formed in the dobby. frame l0. When a finger is raised its hook will bein the path of a knife, and when in down position the hook will belifted above the knife path.

In order to determine the vertical position of the fingers 2| and 22there is provided a pattern chain 3| comprising a plurality of chainbars 32 connected together by links 33 and having set therein finger.lifting pegs 34, The pegs'are arranged according to the pattern desiredin the fabric being woven, and as each chain bar moves to indicatingposition due to movement of, shaft 3 it its pegs will lift the fingersover them and the fingers over blank spaces on the bar will either fallor remain in down position.

The matter thus far described is of common construction and operates inthe usual manner. The dobby chain bars 32 are customarily made of woodand the pegs are made of metal and inserted into holes drilled in thebars 32. Although only two fingers are shown, it will be understood thatthe dobby will have a set of fingers, generally a pair of fingers foreach harness frame.

The present invention relates to the pattern chain cylinder, designatedgenerally at. C, which drives the pattern chain 3|. As shown in Fig.

2 the cylinder is made of right and left end or I head members and 35,two pattern chain driving cylinder members 3? and 38, and anintermediate reinforcing and aligning spider 39.

Referring particularly to the right end of Fig. 2, the end member 35 isformed with a. hub 49 having a bore 4| fitting the shaft [6, and has abeveled flange 4 2 which engages the beveled end 43 of a 'chain bar 32.The end member is also formed with a radial web at from which extends acylindrical tube 45. A pin 46 driven through hub and shaft [6 fastensthese two'parts together and causes the end or head member 35 i to turnwith the shaft.

The sleeve or cylinder member 37, as shown in Fig. e, is provided with aplurality of elongated chain bar driving teeth or tooth elements formedwith slots 5! which open 'interiorly into the member 31. The teethelements are made with thin longitudinal walls 52 and the inner or lowerends of the walls of adjacent teeth are joined by a door 53 at thebottom of an outwardly opening chain bar receiving lengthwise slot 54.The tops of the walls 52 of each tooth 50 are connected by a bridge 55.Each inwardly opening slot 5i is defined by the associated walls 52 andbridge 55, and the floors 53 support the chain bars 32.

The tube 45 of the member 35 has radially extending lugs 56 which fitinto notches 57 formed in the end wall 58 at the right of the cylindermember 31 as viewed in Fig. 2. Notches 51 open into slots 51 and lugs56, by their engagement with the parts of the member 37 at the sides ofthe notches, constitute a positive driving connection between themembers 35 and 31. The inner end of'tube-fiifits against shoulders 59formed on the floors 53 inwardly of the end wall 58, see Fig. 5, therebydetermining the distance between the flange 42 and the adjacent ends ofteeth 50.

The'members 3t and 38 are substantially the same as members 35 and 31,respectively, and the cylinder members 31 and 38 will be collectively ofa length required for the dobby cylinder. If it be desired to make ashorter dobby cylinder the sections 31 and 38 will be shorter, andconversely, they will be longer for a longer dobby cylinder.

In some weaves it may be necessary to lift a la'rgenumber of fingers 21or 22 and in order to support their weight it is desirable that thecylinder members 31 and 38 be reinforced by member 39. The latter isformed with a" web 60 having an ap'erture or bore 5| which has a closefit with the shaft 16. The 'web' is'iritegral with a cylindrical 62formed 'w ith a bead 63 which fits into notch'es 65 on the adjacent endsof the cylinder members '31 and "38. Extending-beyond therim'GZ areteeth 55 "which-fit into the slots 5|. Each tooth '65 has a rim ESprojecting laterally-from a web's! toeng'agethe 4 associated walls 52and bridge 55. Each tooth 65 aligns the corresponding chain drivingteeth 55 of the section members 31 and 3B, and also affords support forthe teeth 59 with respect to the shaft IS.

The various members of the cylinder C are preferably made of a plasticmaterial, such as V polystyrene or cellulose acetate butyrate. Thesematerials are thermoplastic and the engaging or abutting parts of theseveral members can therefore be secured together either by a propercement, or can be fused in a high frequency electric field. The end orhead members 35 and 36 are pinned in position on the shaft l6 and haveabutting engagement with the members 3! and 38, and for this reason itmay not be necessary in all instances to employ cementing or fusing, butthe latter is preferred as it gives additional strength to the assembledcylinder. While only two specific plastic materials have been menvtioned the invention is not necessarily limited to them. I

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention'sets forth alightweight dobby pattern chain fcylinder made of material having a verylow water absorption factor and constructed of members which fittogether to form an integrated cylinderd'rive by the shaft [8. It willfurther be seen that the end members are interlocked with the adjacentends of the cylinder members so that positive driving relation isestablished between the end members and the sections 3! and 38. Also, itwill be seen that the reinforcing spider 39 not only gives additionalsupport to the cylinder members at a point intermediate the end members,but its teeth 65 also align the elongated chain driving teeth 50 andthereby define smooth uninterrupted slots 5| for the chain bars 32.

Having thus described the invention it will be I seen that changes andmodifications of the forenesting the cylinder members and formed withteeth entering the inwardly opening slots of said cylinder members toalign the outwardly-opening slots of said cylindermembers, the ends ofthe cylinder members remote from the reinforcing member being formedwith notches, and tooth means on each e'nd'membe'r entering the notchesin the adjacent cylinder member causing the cylinder members to turnwith the 'end'mem'bers when the shaft is rotated.

2 In a fabricated dobby pattern cylinder for a dobby chain comprisinglinked bars, a shaft extending axially of the cylinder, two alignedhollow cylinder members each formed with outwardly opening chain barreceiving slots, .a spider member within said cylindermen'ibers,interlocking means on the spider member and adjacent ends ofthe cylinder members causing thelatter to turn together, and end memberson the shaft-one secured to one of said cylinder members and the othersecured to .the'other cylinder member.

3. Ina fabricated dobbypattern cylinder for a dobby chain comprisinglinked bars, a shaft extending axially of the cylinder, a pair of hollowaligned cylinder members each formed with chain driving teeth betweenoutwardly opening chain bar receiving slots, each chain driving toothhaving an inwardly opening slot and said inwardly opening slots beingspaced by floors integral with the cylinder member and extending acrossthe bottoms of the outwardly opening slots, a reinforcing spider memberwithin said cylinder members engaging said floors and extending into theinwardly opening slots of said cylinder members to align the latter, andand members secured to the ends of the cylinder members remote from thespider member and secured to said shaft.

4. In a fabricated dobby pattern cylinder for a dobby pattern chaincomprising linked bars, a shaft extending axially of the cylinder, ahollow cylinder member having outwardly opening chain bar receivingslots and having chain bar driving teeth formed with inwardly openingslots, spaced end members secured to the shaft each formed with teethentering the inwardly opening slots at the adjacent end of the cylindermember and establishing positive driving connection between" thecylinder member and the end members when.

the shaft is rotated. WILLIAM A. BLANCHARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

